


Home

by LazuliTheMirrorGem (orphan_account)



Series: What the Universe Intended [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Orphan AU, major tw for abusive relationships, small tw for homophobia, use of the r-slur
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-11-05 16:25:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11017128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/LazuliTheMirrorGem
Summary: Home is an ambiguous thing. A place? A feeling? A person?Whatever it is, the girls have never had a home. Maybe that's why they're where they are.Girls' HomeApril 29, 2001"Don't let the name fool you. It's not a place you'd likely want to live in," said the officer in a gloriously reassuring way."Thanks for adding to my glass of optimism," Lapis grumbled.





	Home

"It's been like this for at least two decades," the older staff members told her. "It seems scary, but you'll get used to it."

It wasn't true. Lapis would never get used to it. 

Her parents threw her out when she started dating Jasper, being the homophobic pricks they were. Then, of course, being the unstable idiots they were, especially with their pasts and parents, the teenagers got locked in a toxic relationship. A pretty serious one.

It had probably been a true, typical teenage crush driven one hundred percent by hormones - at first. But it became something more terrible and cruel. They used each other and drove each other mad. Jasper would beat Lapis until she bled, and Lapis would taunt her and drive her to the ground with just the right words to send her teetering into mental hell. They stayed together through all of it. They were convinced that it was  _love._

She had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, out of Jasper's house by the police when they discovered that the woman was abusing a minor.

Her ex was arrested, and only now was she beginning to realize how much she missed being able to take her pain out on someone.

The little blonde wasn't helping her one bit. She wanted to be "friends." Lapis had immediately waved her off as pathetic, and no one younger or smaller than her would dare approach someone who looked so beaten up.

Well, this "Peridot" was either really persistent or really stupid.

At this point, Lapis was leaning towards  _really annoying._

* * *

 

"Look, I don't have friends, nor do I need them. Stop bugging me, you pest," Lapis snapped at the dinner table that night. She was growing impatient as Peridot continued to ignore her requests to leave her alone.

Peridot looked momentarily hurt, but she quickly regained composure. "You don't need friends, or you're afraid to have friends?" She looked away and crossed her arms. "And if anything, you're the pest." The girl stuck her tongue out, the childish action making her seem much younger than fifteen.

Lapis blinked rapidly. "That's too philosophical for me. No thanks. But seriously, leave. Me. Alone."

Peridot sighed, pushing her plate of food that was somehow  _worse_ than cafeteria food from the county schools away. "Look, I was like you. I hated everyone. I thought everyone hated me-"

"Are you claiming I'm insecure?" Lapis hissed.

"Oh, my God. No, Lazuli. I'm not. Listen, you need to have  _someone_ in this hellhole. I approached you because I figured you'd need me, or one of the other stable people. I mean, you're covered in bruises-"

"Don't go assuming anything." Lapis gritted her teeth.

"You need someone to support you and help you through this change!" Peridot forced a smile. Her patience was growing thin.

"No, I don't." Lapis looked her dead in the eye. "Get away from me, retard."

Peridot's mouth dropped. Heads turned.

Suddenly, Peridot was running from the table and the entirety of the girls' home was staring at her.

"Young lady," said an elder woman through gritted teeth. 

"I'll go after her," said a younger girl - a slightly chubby Hispanic.

"We need to re-establish some rules here, Miss." 

The children filed out in a rush, and Lapis slouched into her chair with a sinking feeling - and maybe a little regret.

* * *

Surprisingly, she wasn't screamed at. That was a good thing.

However, they really made her think about what she and Peridot had said, and she  _really_ felt bad when they reminded her of how many autistic children lived here. It angered her that parents would give their disabled kid up because they didn't want to have to deal with all the treatment.

She wasn't going to lie and say she didn't know that the r-slur was a dangerous word to be used in a place like this. In fact, that was probably why she did it. Desperate for Peridot to leave her so she wouldn't have to think and she could be upset forever.

After the talk, Lapis was confronted by a quiet and scrawny girl, her bangs almost covering milky blue eyes. She sat down beside her on the made-up bed, folding her hands. She didn't say a word for several minutes.

"Are you torturing me?" Lapis asked slowly.

The teen looked up, surprised. "S-sorry. I do that a lot. I'm Livie. You can call me Blue."

"And you're on my bed why?" She paused. "Lapis Lazuli."

"I heard what you said. To Peridot." Blue closed her eyes and exhaled quietly.

"Who didn't?" Lapis sighed.

"If it helps, I think if you give her a genuine apology, she'll forgive you."

Lapis found Blue's voice soothing, small and sweet. There was just enough solidity, and just enough anxiety. Everything about the girl was silent. She... liked it.

"You think?" Lapis asked. "Those people were pretty firm in saying that it was time for bed."

"Go." Blue rose from the bed, offered a faint smile, and returned to her own bed.

Way to be cryptic, Blue.

 She fell back onto the bed with a sigh. She really needed to apologize to Peridot, but she was extremely tired. (Not that she was going to sleep until 2 A.M.)

 _Tomorrow,_ she thought, scrambling up to make her new bed presentable to the caretakers. 

As she tried to settle down, she wondered what life in the girls' home would be like. It certainly wasn't home - but that was the only thing she _was_ certain about.

* * *

 

Two hours passed in total silence. The girls around her ignored her rustling and groans, most sleeping or too occupied with their thoughts to care or notice. Lapis was growing more tired by the second - yet, at the same time, even more alert. She wanted to get up and run away and find Jasper. She didn't care if the woman hurt her. She didn't care if she hurt Jasper. She just wanted to be somewhere else.

The silence was terrifying. She felt as though someone was waiting for her to fall asleep to-

No. No one in this room was even armed, much less with the intent of killing her. For harming Peridot! How silly.

Except, well... Maybe there was someone. The squat Hispanic girl, Amethyst, gave her some pretty murderous looks when she'd stepped into the bunk room on floor two. Thankfully Peridot didn't sleep on this level.

Thinking of Peridot made Lapis kind of guilty. Who even knew what kind of pain a single word could bring up?

And when Amethyst had confronted her... While the girl was obviously angry, she had made sure to explain the problem. Peridot had Asperger's syndrome, which made Lapis  _really_ feel bad.

She had decided it high time to haul her ass upstairs and apologize, but the tall annoying ladies came in and yelled at the girls that it was "bed time."

She had promised herself that she would apologize the next day, and the clock read 12 A.M. ... So why the hell not?

She kicked the covers off and tip-toed to the door.

For some reason, a deep, dark corner in the back of her mind was proud.

**Author's Note:**

> Why does this bump to the top every time I edit it??  
> Is it supposed to???


End file.
